Lido Buffet vs MDR

[Reds4life]

We are going on our first HAL cruise from Dec 29 to Jan 3. Upon looking at some of the menu posted online, it appears that the buffet on HAL is a little more extensive than other cruise lines particularly for dinner. Is this generally true? Can you get the same entrees on the Lido buffet as the MDR on most nights? This is of great importance to us because our cruise is a Caribbean cruise and we like to pack light if we can. We only dress up for formal nights if the menu is really good compared to the buffet. Thus, if the buffet has the same dishes then we would rather pass on the dress up. Any information is appreciated as always

[Cruise Suzy]

If there is an item on the MDR menu (whether or not available in the buffet) that you want, you can order via Room Service. Call during the first hour MDR is open.

[Mary229]

First you don’t have to dress for dinner.  Generally the only two rules regarding the MDR are no shorts, no torn jeans at the evening meal.  
 

the Lido generally has most of the same menu items at dinner as the MDR.  To each their own but I like the MDR and I think the food served is fresher and more palatable overall. That is not always the case but this year I have found a greater difference in quality than previously 

[albingirl]

Lido is like a cafeteria. I'm not going there when I  can be served in the dining room. It's not that hard to dress nicely without being too fancy. It's no big deal, really. Literally thousands of opinionated threads right here on trusty old cruise critic. Some more entertaining than others 

[CruiserBruce]

The Lido will not typically have the nicer items from the MDR. Nicer cuts of meat, fancier fish dishes, escargot, things like that, aren't typically offered in the Lido. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

Think already answered.  The basic items are available in the buffet.   The more deluxe items are not.  

I think of the difference between going to a cafeteria and a sit down restaurant.

Going to the MDR takes more time, but certainly nicer presentation.  And as for the clothing requirements.  . . other than shorts and tshirts with profanity almost anything you would wear to a nice restaurant at home is just fine.

[ChinaShrek]

I actually found there was a greater variety of items in the Lido buffet for dinner. They had many items on the buffet each night that were not on the MDR menu. I also liked that I could sit down and get basically waited on by a staff member in the Lido. They would bring me beverages and even asked me if I wanted desert. It was cool and I didn't have to dress up or engage with strangers.

[silversneakers]

Our recent experience is that the dining room takes a long time for service so if you don't mind that, you are okay. Also, the portions are very small.  Recently ordered escargot as appetizer in the MDR and it was the worst thing I have ever tasted. All the desserts taste the same....looks pretty, no taste....but I don't usually order dessert anyway.

 

For me, the Lido deck has more options to my liking. I usually like vegetables and fish for dinner and salad for lunch. We usually try to go to the Lido at a later time so we won't have to experience the lines. We always get breakfast in our cabin.

 

At the pizza location they also have a selection of sandwiches and a salad or two and we have taken that option and had a quiet meal on the upper deck by the pool.

[oakridger]

2 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

 

It was cool and I didn't have to dress up or engage with strangers.

You don’t need to engage with strangers in the MDR either if you don’t want to!  The host ( too hard to spell Maitre ‘d 😉) will ask if you want to share a table but if not,  you can sit by yourself!  I just got off Nieuw Amsterdam and sat by myself, by choice, every time I went to the MDR for 31 days!!!  

[Banditswife]

On one of the 1st longer cruises after the restart-21 days, we found MDR a bit too slow for our liking.  Not sure if the longer trial cruise was a factor.   So we ended up on Lido for dinner on evenings when we had other things we wanted to do.  If time was not an issue, we ate in the MDR. I love that HAL's lido buffet workers serve you instead of everyone dishing it out themselves.  I found the salad bar on lido an excellent choice.  But there was always something that looked appealing.  

[JeffElizabeth]

Was just on Princess in September and Holland in October,  HAL had a much better buffet experience in our eyes, both ships were 3100. More options and better quality.  The MDR is slower but the posters above are right. The dress code is pretty loose these days, even on formal night. I was getting away with black jeans and Hawaiian shirts. 

[Crew News]

For the past number of years, I have told my MDR waiter that I will leaving one hour after I arrive for dinner.  It has been extremely rare that my waiter did not make that happen. 

 

In most cases, food is already prepared and merely needs plating.  Each waiter station has a hot box where your entrees can be placed while you are eating your appetizer.  The waiter station hot box is not large enough to support a table with eight diners but can be used for one or two entrees.  The swap of an empty appetizer plate for your empty entree plate can be immediate.  Dessert can be held at the waiter station (unless ice cream) until you your entree is finished.

 

On the Zuiderdam last April, my meals were all completed around 50 minutes at my table for two.  I made sure to post my kudos on the Navigator app and the MDR Maitre'd stopped by my table each evening to thank me for my comments.

 

it never hurts to ask.

Edited October 27, 2022 by Crew News

[Hlitner]

Different strokes kind of thing.  We prefer the MDR because we enjoy sharing tables with others (yes, even strangers) and turning dinner into dining and a good social time.  When we get a decent table (which is the norm on HAL) we are in no hurry and our time in the MDR is often the best evening entertainment on the ship :).

 

Hank

[Reds4life]

Sounds like two very good options. I am primarily concerned with whether the buffet has the beef choices that the MDR does. I like steak, prime rib, tenderloin, etc and lots of it. I would love to see prime rib on a buffet. Also, does HAL have lobster on formal night? 

 

I am a bit disappointed that the MDR has the shorts rule but will pack one or two pair of khakis I suppose just to appease. Can you wear shorts on non formal nights? 

 

If you order the MDR choices for room service, can you order more than one entree? 

Edited October 27, 2022 by Reds4life

[Coolcruise02]

I really was shocked on our last cruise to find out we liked the buffet better than the MDR. The wait staff actually brought around options for us to try and refilled our drinks. They got to know us and started greeting us when we walked in and offered to bring us anything we wanted. Also, they brought over desserts for us to try. I felt like things were slow for them and they enjoyed having us there. They treated us like royalty and I found no lacking in the food quality or selections. On some evenings we would sit outside and watch the sunset. We had a great experience with the buffet.

[RuthC]

25 minutes ago, Reds4life said:

I am a bit disappointed that the MDR has the shorts rule but will pack one or two pair of khakis I suppose just to appease. Can you wear shorts on non formal nights? 

Not in the dining room. 

[JeffElizabeth]

If you sit at a two top in the MDR, it does seem you get served faster. Not waiting for the slow eaters at an 8-top? 

[HELENPSL]

Usually the only things you cannot get in the lido are the escargot and the onion soup.  We were on the NS two weeks ago for 14 days.  We ate in the dining room twice at a table for two which is very unusual for us.  We were out in less than an hour since we wanted to make the early show.  We found the food in the lido to be very good.  They had prime rib several nights.

Helen

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, JeffElizabeth said:

If you sit at a two top in the MDR, it does seem you get served faster. Not waiting for the slow eaters at an 8-top? 

In my experience, this is true for 2-tops but it will still exceed the 1-hour time limit given my waiters. 

 

At one first MDR meal onboard and after letting my waiter know that I would do so, I got up to leave at 1-hour.  My waiter apologized and promised that my dessert would be delivered to my stateroom.  Ten minutes later I was eating my chocolate cake.  Every subsequent meal met my limit.

 

Six years ago my MDR waiter also delivered Room Service in the afternoons to my stateroom to earn extra money for his family.  On one delivery, I asked how to speed up MDR meals and he explained the process to me.  It has worked ever since for my 2-top meals.

[Mary229]

9 hours ago, Reds4life said:

Sounds like two very good options. I am primarily concerned with whether the buffet has the beef choices that the MDR does. I like steak, prime rib, tenderloin, etc and lots of it. I would love to see prime rib on a buffet. Also, does HAL have lobster on formal night? 

 

I am a bit disappointed that the MDR has the shorts rule but will pack one or two pair of khakis I suppose just to appease. Can you wear shorts on non formal nights? 

 

If you order the MDR choices for room service, can you order more than one entree? 

Beef!  Absolutely.  My DH prefers the lido on prime rib night as he can tell the gent exactly which cut and how thick, no guessing.  Usually we will do both, appetizers, salad and soup in the MDR followed by a trip to the lido for beef 

Edited October 27, 2022 by Mary229

[mcrcruiser]

11 hours ago, JeffElizabeth said:

Was just on Princess in September and Holland in October,  HAL had a much better buffet experience in our eyes, both ships were 3100. More options and better quality.  The MDR is slower but the posters above are right. The dress code is pretty loose these days, even on formal night. I was getting away with black jeans and Hawaiian shirts. 

I am with you dark  slacks & my Hawaiian  shirts .I also bring along  my sweater  for additional comfort 😀

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

Beef!  Absolutely.  My DH prefers the lido on prime rib night as he can tell the gent exactly which cut and how thick, no guessing.  Usually we will do both, appetizers, salad and soup in the MDR followed by a trip to the lido for beef 

That is interesting . Different strokes for different folks . Neat idea 😃

[Reds4life]

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Beef!  Absolutely.  My DH prefers the lido on prime rib night as he can tell the gent exactly which cut and how thick, no guessing.  Usually we will do both, appetizers, salad and soup in the MDR followed by a trip to the lido for beef 

Gosh that sounds amazing! Can't wait until Dec 29

[Reds4life]

How about lobster, shrimp, crab legs? Any of those on Lido or in MDR?

[Crew News]

43 minutes ago, Reds4life said:

How about lobster, shrimp, crab legs? Any of those on Lido or in MDR?

On all of my cruises in the last year, lobster and large shrimp appetizer was only served on New Years Eve in the MDR.